Sunderland were keeping an eye on Bruno Cabral towards the end of last year, when the River Plate youngster was scoring goals for fun.
That interest went under the radar in England at the time. And it surely is worth revisiting now, because River have just made sure anyone coming back for the striker will find them well protected.
The Argentine club have agreed Cabral’s first professional contract. It runs until December 2028 and comes with a €100m (£84.9m) release clause.
For a player who is still only 15, that tells its own story.
Sunderland were among the clubs making enquiries
Back in December, TyC Sports named Sunderland as one of the European clubs to have sounded out Cabral. Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen were also in the picture.
It came after a ridiculous 2025 for the striker. Cabral was the star of River’s triumph at the Messi Cup in Miami, scoring seven times in five matches. He finished as both top scorer and MVP.
Those goals came against some pretty decent opposition too. He scored against Barcelona, Manchester City and Chelsea, hit three against Inter and grabbed two against Atletico Madrid.
By then, Cabral had already been putting up huge numbers at youth level. He scored 26 goals in 2024 and then 34 in 28 matches for River in 2025. He also scored heavily for Argentina’s U15s.
That explains why Sunderland and two major Bundesliga clubs were sniffing around.
River aren’t taking any chances
Fast forward to October and River have now done something about all that attention. TyC Sports again reported that an agreement has been reached for Cabral’s first professional deal.
River had wanted to get this sorted earlier. The problem was his age, with the rules preventing a professional contract before he turns 16.
Cabral reaches that milestone on August 16, and everything is now agreed. The contract will run until the end of 2028, while that €100m (£84.9m) clause gives River plenty of protection if European clubs come knocking again.
Cabral has previously described himself as a striker who enjoys dropping out of the box and helping build attacks. He likes making runs in behind too, and points to his speed, dribbling and physical power as strengths. Julian Alvarez is the player he looks up to.
There is nothing at this stage to suggest Sunderland have made another move for Cabral. Still, their previous interest is worth remembering.
They spotted him before River had a professional contract in place, and the Argentine club have since made very sure that situation cannot leave them exposed.
